


The Tanuki Group (2008)

by JennyB



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Established Relationship, Hurt, M/M, Misunderstandings, Surprises, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-01-26
Updated: 2008-01-26
Packaged: 2018-02-06 18:18:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1867695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JennyB/pseuds/JennyB
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Jounouchi's birthday, but it looks like Seto has made other plans.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Tanuki Group (2008)

Seto looked up from his paper for the third time in five minutes when he again felt that intense stare on him. Sapphire met shining, excited amber, and it wasn't too much of a stretch for him to imagine a pair of floppy golden ears and an eagerly wagging tail on the blond to once again justify his nickname for the other. Honestly, Jounouchi was _this close_ to practically sticking out his tongue and slobbering everywhere in his enthusiasm. Knowing he wasn't going to get much peace that morning, he folded the paper and set it down beside him, and then picked up a piece of toast. "Something on your mind?" he asked casually.

"Nah, not really. Just that today is going to be a _really_ good day, I think!" Those expressive eyes searched the other's, looking for any sort of a sign of recognition.

Seto shrugged. "It's Friday. I suppose so." He took a bite of toast and noted the slight sag of his lover's shoulders. "That movie you've been waiting for opens in theatres today, doesn't it?"

Jounouchi couldn't hide his disappointment. "Yeah," he replied flatly. " _'Death Squad Commandoes'_. It was shot partially in Domino, you know!"

"Yes, you've said so pretty much every morning. You also said that you were in a crowd of people gathered for one scene and are going to see if you can see yourself on screen."

The blond sighed. "Yeah..." Truly, he was very excited to see the film, and he was pleased that his boyfriend actually had paid attention to him, but he was disappointed that Seto had seemingly forgotten the most important part of the day – that it was his birthday. Then again, Seto had always been good at fooling him... "So, do you want to come see it with me tonight?"

"Can't," the brunet replied. "I have to work. In fact, I won't be in school at all today."

Jounouchi's head snapped up, and for the first time, he noticed that the dark-haired teen wasn't in his uniform, but was dressed in a crisp, white suit. He didn't care for it all that much himself, but the dark-haired teen always wore it when he was in a serious negotiation. "Aw, shit..." The disappointment deepened, but then he asked, "Can I at least come see you at lunch?"

Seto gave him a bit of a smile at that. "If you don't mind me working while you eat, I don't mind. I'll have the car waiting for you when the bell rings, ne?"

"Ok." The blond stirred his cereal absently for a while, and then perked up again. "Where's Mokuba? He's gonna be late for school!" He couldn't help but grin at that. The kid knew that today was his birthday, and he was _sure_ that he'd pass on best wishes to him when he came down.

"He's already left. Class trip today, and he had to be at the school early."

"Oh." His face fell again, and he pushed his partially eaten breakfast away. This was fast shaping up to be his worst birthday ever!

* * *

After Seto dropped him off at school, Jounouchi trudged dejectedly into the building. He knew that his boyfriend had a lot on the go, but he'd just assumed that he'd remember something like this. After all, Seto had remembered every other date, and it hurt a little to think that the brunet had forgotten this one. Especially considering how much the blond had been looking forward to it – at eighteen, he was now legally an adult, and he could legitimately move in with his lover. That was something the two of them had talked about at length. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he was struck with a thought. Maybe Seto didn't _want_ to be with him any more! The two of them had been dating a little over ten months, and as far as Jounouchi knew, theirs was the longest relationship – and the only real serious one – that the brunet had ever been in. Maybe...maybe Seto was looking to move on! That thought only served to depress him more, and as he changed out of his shoes, he was startled half to death by an arm dropping heavily onto his shoulder.

"Happy birthday, man," Honda drawled with a lazy smile, only to arch a brow. "Dude, you look like you just lost your best friend. What's up?"

"Nothing."

The fin-haired brunet rolled his eyes. "Jou, come on man. I mean, I know I'm not the genius Kaiba is, but give me a _little_ credit, ne?" Hazel eyes widened in surprise when that only seemed to make the blond even more upset.

"Fine – just, don't mention that prick's name around me today, ok?" Before Honda could comment, Jounouchi launched into his story, ranting about how his boyfriend had forgotten about his birthday, and that despite all his talk, nothing had been planned for him. After that, he frowned deeply and then went on about his worries that Seto was looking to kick him to the curb. When he'd finished, he looked up at his best friend and asked, "Do you wanna come to the movies with me tonight, Hon'?"

The stockier male dropped his gaze and sighed. "I'm sorry, Jou, but I'd assumed you were doing something with Kaiba tonight, so I told my sister I'd baby-sit for her. But I'm good for tomorrow! We can go tomorrow, ne?"

Jounouchi plastered a small smile on his face, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Sure, man. Sure. Tomorrow." He forced a laugh when Honda gave him a friendly punch to the arm, and he carried on to his class.

By the time lunch rolled around, Jounouchi was convinced that he'd done something terribly wrong at some point in a past life, and now all that negative karma was coming back to bite him in the ass. This _was_ his worst birthday ever. He'd forgotten about the pop quiz in his math class – one he would be lucky to have barely passed – and it turned out that none of his friends were available to do anything with him that night. Yugi was going to be helping Gramps with inventory – but told him that the old man wanted to have him over for a birthday dinner on Sunday. Ryou had to meet with his tutor, but promised to call later in the evening and see if he still wanted to do something. And Anzu – who Jounouchi liked, but only spent time with on his own as a last resort – had picked up an extra shift at Burger World. Apparently, everyone – including the birthday boy – had just automatically believed that the night would be Kaiba's. And everyone knew that it was not wise to mess with _anything_ that belonged to him.

Nevertheless, Jounouchi tried to remain a little bit optimistic as the car pulled up outside Seto's office. He'd picked up lunch, assuming that his boyfriend wouldn't bother to eat if he wasn't reminded to, and he smiled softly as he gazed down at the takeaway containers – hot and sour noodle soup for the brunet, and chicken curry and shrimp tempura for himself. He grinned to the security guard in the front lobby as his ID was checked, and then he stepped in front of the retinal scanner that would give him access to the direct elevator to Seto's floor. As he exited the lift, he saw Aizawa Kitsune, the brunet's personal assistant, and he gave her a wide smile. "Ne, Aizawa-san!" he greeted. "How's Japan's prettiest lady today?"

The young woman giggled and flushed a deep pink as she always did when the blond complimented her. "Doing alright, Jounouchi-san. He's expecting you, is he?" she asked, nodding toward the bag in his hand. At the other's affirmative, she smiled as she slipped on her headset. "Go ahead, then. I'll just let him know you're here."

The blond gave her a deep, overly-exaggerated bow, the gallant gesture only making the woman giggle harder, and then he winked and blew a kiss at her before carrying on down the small corridor to the large mahogany doors. The melancholy he'd been feeling returned full force as he stared at them, his hand resting lightly on the brass handle. Maybe the brunet had just had a lot on his mind that morning. Clinging tenaciously to that logic, he took a deep breath and nudged it open to poke his head inside. He could see that Seto was on the telephone, but when the young CEO beckoned him inside with a brisk wave of his hand, he couldn't help but smile as he slipped in and closed the door behind him. As he walked over to the large desk, he thought to himself that he was one of the luckiest people in Domino. He was probably the only person, save for Mokuba, that had direct access to the stoic brunet. His lips curved up even more at that thought, and he carefully unpacked the containers before dragging one of the visitor's chairs closer and tucking into his meal. While he ate, he half listened to his lover talk about mergers and propositions and contracts. Most of it went over his head, but he could tell from the tone in Seto's voice that he was essentially pleased. He'd nearly finished by the time the brunet hung up the phone, and he gave him a brilliant smile when those sapphire eyes turned their undivided attention to him. _'I'm such a dope,'_ he thought to himself as he fell into that endless blue for a moment. _'If he didn't want me around, he wouldn't look at me like that.'_ He gave his head a shake, and then said, "I got you some soup, Set'. I know you don't like to eat much at lunch, but I wanted to make sure you had something."

"Thank you," he replied, his own lips quirked up a bit. "I'll have it a little later this afternoon. I have a meeting at one. How's your day been so far?" he asked, his gaze shifting back to the large contract he had on his desk. "Anything interesting happen?"

The blond thought about his friends, and the incredibly disappointing day he was having, and for a moment, he thought about telling his lover. Instead, he just shrugged. "Nah. Same old shit, you know?"

"Mm," Seto agreed absently as he turned over the page he was reading and picked up another.

Jounouchi sighed inwardly as he picked up his empty containers and threw them in the trash, and then moved Seto's soup to the small bar fridge. He knew it would only get tossed in a few days, uneaten, but he carefully packed it away anyway. For a moment, he watched the dark-haired teen work, and then he strode across the room and settled himself on the brunet's lap. "I can make cannelloni for dinner tonight, Set'," he purred in the other's ear. "I know you've gotta work, but we can have a late supper, just the two of us."

"I'll be out late tonight, Jounouchi. I told you that this morning," Seto replied. He slid an arm around the blond's slight waist to steady him, and slowly, he turned the paper he was reading over and reached for another. "Maybe tomorrow night?"

The fair-haired male pouted slightly at that, but he was undeterred. With a soft growl, he licked around the shell of his boyfriend's ear, and murmured, "You sure I can't change your mind?" A sultry giggle escaped him, and he lightly nuzzled the other's neck, a soft groan escaping him at the scent of Seto's cologne.

"Hm? No, I'm sorry, Katsuya. This has been on the calendar for months now, and I can't cancel it on a whim. Besides, I have to get through the rest of this before my afternoon meeting. Can we talk about this later?"

Jounouchi felt as though he'd just had a glass of ice water dumped on him. Not only had the brunet failed to react to his teasing, but he'd just basically blown him off for what? For _work_? He knew he was being stubborn and irrational. He'd always known that Seto had major commitments he just couldn't step away from. But damn it, this was one time that he _needed_ his lover to be there for him. And it hurt like hell that he wasn't. He glanced at the stack of papers the brunet was perusing – there had to be at least fifty pages, and he didn't see any page numbers. For a moment, he thought about sweeping the entire stack onto the floor, but then he thought better of it. After all, someone had worked hard on that, and he wasn't about to fuck over the company because of his temper tantrum. Instead, he hopped off the other's lap and glowered at him. "You're such an asshole, you know that?"

That got Seto's attention. He looked up at the blond, his eyes narrowed coldly, and he growled, "Say that again?"

"You heard me!" Jounouchi snapped back, the frustration and hurt that had been building finally coming to a head. "You don't have a fucking clue, do you? You have no idea what today is! You're so concerned about your _precious_ company and playing nice with a bunch of people you don't give a shit about that you've forgotten about me! The one who likes you, despite all your flaws, and wants to _be_ with you! The one you said you loved! The one you said would always be important to you! You know what? Fuck you, Kaiba Seto. If you can't be bothered to think about me first for once in your life, then maybe I can't be bothered to wait around for you!" Still scowling, he glared at the other teen, waiting to see what his lover would say, and hoping like hell he hadn't fucked himself with his outburst. He knew firsthand that the brunet didn't take kindly to being threatened, and was just as likely to call his bluff as he was to listen.

Seto's expression was murderous as he stared right back at the blond, a deep chill settling in his eyes. "Go home, Jounouchi."

The blond swallowed harshly. He shivered a little at the icy tone, and if he didn't know better, he'd swear the temperature of the room had dropped by ten degrees. He hated that cold, cruel voice. At least when Seto yelled at him, there was a bit of heat behind the words – and it usually ended with them making out and making up. Then there was the fact that the brunet had used his formal name. Jounouchi noticeably winced, and he knew he'd _definitely_ struck the wrong nerve with this one. Though the righteous indignation remained, he had lost the will to fight. "Set', I –"

"I _said_ go home. You think you've got me _all_ figured out, do you?" He snorted contemptuously. "I don't have the time or the patience to deal with this level of idiocy right now. We will talk about it later." Dropping his gaze, he angrily snatched the next sheet of paper, effectively ending the conversation.

"Set'?" The blond sighed when the other carried on as though he wasn't even in the room. "I'm sorry," he whispered before he turned on his heel and slipped back into the corridor. As he passed the secretary's desk, something the brunet had said tickled the back of his mind. After worrying his lip for a moment, he approached her. "Ne, Aizawa-san, could you do a favour for me?"

She cocked her head to the side and looked at him. "Depends on what it is," she teased with a smile.

"Could you tell me what Set's got on his calendar for tonight?" Amber eyes widened into a pleading puppy dog expression. "I'm just curious about something."

She pretended to think for a minute, even going so far as to give him a stern look, but then she giggled. "I don't see the harm in that." She swivelled her chair a little and began to type, and a moment later, the brunet's schedule was pulled up on her monitor. "Let's see...he's got a meeting with the Osaka group at one... then at four, he's going to be in a conference call – with the Tanuki group, and then it shows he's meeting them at half six for dinner at the Sakura Gardens." She smiled softly when she looked up at him and saw the flicker of disappointment. "I'm sorry, Jounouchi-san," she said gently.

"Nah, it's ok," he replied, and he gave her a weak smile. "I'd just wondered something, but it's ok." He slipped on his jacket as he stepped into the lift, and when the doors closed, he sighed. He'd wondered if maybe Seto had been hinting at something with his comment, but seeing as how he really _was_ booked for the evening with work, he now knew that he hadn't been.

He rode back to the school in silence, and when the driver let him off, he sighed heavily. He really didn't feel like being there for the afternoon any more. So, after he'd been dropped off and he'd waved good bye, he waited until he saw the limousine pull around the corner, and then he stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jacket and headed towards the more industrial part of town. As he walked, he let his mind wander. He was hurt, naturally. He was mad at himself for getting the brunet upset with him, and he was a bit annoyed with his friends for having other things to do – though when he thought more about that, he knew he was being unfair. Besides, it wasn't that they'd completely forgotten him – dinner with Sugoroku on Sunday would be a time for all of them to be together to celebrate. But, that wasn't the point. The point was that _Seto_ had forgotten, and that made Jounouchi feel insignificant. Like the things that were important to him were somehow more trivial. And he hated feeling that way. His eyes prickled, but he blinked harshly and bowed his head, telling himself it was just the harsh wind coming in off of the water. Nevertheless, he sat down on one of the mooring points at the shipyard, gazing out at the water and letting the tears (a definite product of the wind!) fall down his cheeks.

When it began to get dark, Jounouchi had finished crying and feeling sorry for himself. After dusting himself off, he started walking towards Seto's house – which was, he supposed, his house now, too. The arrangement had been for him to formally move in today, and since the brunet hadn't said otherwise, he was working on the assumption that was still the case. Most of his stuff was there already anyway. He figured he'd order a pizza, watch a few movies, and spend the evening acting like the adult he was allegedly supposed to be now. He went a few blocks and then decided that it was too cold to be walking. He checked his wallet, and after thanking whatever gods there were that he had enough for cab fare, he called for a taxi – he couldn't be arsed to bother Seto's driver.

Shortly after six, he let himself into the manor. He was a bit surprised that Mokuba wasn't there; he'd expected the boy to have returned from his class trip long before now. Shrugging to himself, he made his way toward the staircase to go change, only to be stopped partway up by a polite cough. Turning around, he saw Isono standing there, looking up at him with a somewhat curious expression on his face.

"Sir? What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Oh, hey Isono. Just gonna change out of my uniform. Why, am I gonna be in your way?"

"No, not really." There was a pause. "Shouldn't you be with Kaiba-sama right now?"

Despite himself, Jounouchi actually snorted and rolled his eyes. "He's got some dinner meeting with some _clients_ tonight." There was a hint of bitterness in his voice. "Besides, why would I go? I've never been invited to one of those stupid appointments."

The older man arched a brow. "Well, he did leave a note for you on the refrigerator this morning. And I'm quite sure the instructions were for you to meet him at six-thirty this evening."

The blond's face paled as he looked wide-eyed at the brunet's advisor. "You're shitting me!"

Isono smirked. "I assure you I'm not."

Cursing to himself, Jounouchi bounded down the stairs and tore into the kitchen. Sure enough, in Seto's small, perfect script, was a note that read:

_Happy birthday, Koinu. Dinner tonight – half six – Sakura Gardens. ~S_

"That son of a bitch!" Jounouchi remarked with a half-laugh. "He fucking tricked me! All day! No wonder he was insisting that I go home!" Suddenly, his expression fell. "Oh God...the things I said! He must think I'm a total idiot! And shit! Oh shit! It's six o'clock now! There's no _way_ I'll be showered and there on time! And damn it! How the hell am I gonna _get there_ on time?"

Isono interrupted him. "Go get dressed. I'll drive you; I was going to be heading home in a few minutes anyway."

"Really? Oh fuck, Isono, you're the best, man! I just –"

"Go!"

"Right! Right!" The blond tore off up the stairs, his hair still slightly damp when he came flying back down ten minutes later, tugging a green and blue rugby shirt on over his head. For the entire drive, Jounouchi thanked the other man profusely for the ride, and his final 'thanks' was lost to the night as he scrambled out of the car at quarter to seven. Running a hand through his haphazard hair, he took a deep breath and entered the restaurant. Hesitantly, he approached the hostess, and smiled at her. "Um, yeah...hi...I'm supposed to be meeting –"

"Kaiba-sama?" she finished, and then she smiled back. "He said to expect you. This way, please." Wordlessly, she led the blond back through the dining room, pausing outside a white shoji screen.  
Carefully, she slid the panels back, and then gave the blond a bow, inviting him to enter.

Jounouchi stepped inside, his eyes widening again and his mouth dropping open when he saw not only Seto and Mokuba seated around a large table, but also Yugi and Sugaroku, Honda, Ryou and Anzu. "You're all a bunch of lying bastards!" he groused petulantly, only to grin a moment later. "And I love each and every one of you for it! You got me good. All of you." He laughed, his grin positively brilliant as he beamed up at his lover. "I'm surprised you were able to keep Honda's trap shut about this," he teased with a wink, only to smile even wider when his friend flipped him off.

Seto smirked and surreptitiously grabbed the blond's hand underneath the table, giving it a small squeeze. He'd changed into more casual black slacks, and a soft button-up shirt. "It would have been better if you knew how to be on time," he teased. "How the hell could you have been late? I left the note right on the refrigerator – you _always_ have a snack when you come home!"

Jounouchi smiled sheepishly and scrubbed a hand through his hair. "Uh, yeah... Well, about that, you see," he trailed off again for a moment, and then filled them in on how he'd been feeling pretty crappy and had gone for a walk, and how, by the time he'd gotten home, it had been late.

Seto smirked. "Isono called me while you were in the shower. I know. But honestly, do you really think I'd have forgotten this? I was serious when I told you this afternoon that the date had been on my calendar for months now."

"Yeah, but Aizawa-san's computer showed you had a meeting with the Tanuki group!"

The brunet laughed at that. "I do." He gestured around the table. "Meet the Tanuki group." At seeing the confused expression on Jounouchi's face, he explained. "I needed a code word to keep nosy little puppies from finding out things they shouldn't. Tanuki was perfect. Not only is it a raccoon dog, but the image is synonymous with disguise and deception – the tanuki himself being renowned for being a little absent-minded and gullible." Seto chuckled, and eased the sting of his teasing with another soft squeeze of the blond's hand. "I was a bit worried when I chose the name. After all, we had to do that unit on Japanese mythology last semester, and I thought when you heard it that it might ring a bell of sorts." He smirked. "Guess my worries were for nothing."

As the night wore on, Jounouchi found he was having the time of his life. He chatted happily with everyone, received more presents from his friends than he could dare imagine, and at the end of the evening, he was a bit sad to see it all coming to an end. Despite everything, it really had turned out to be his best birthday ever.  
It was late when everyone finally started saying their good byes, and as the party broke up and everyone went their separate ways, the blond cast an adoring glance at his lover. After seeing everyone to their cars, the two teens and Mokuba climbed into the limo, the youngest male dozing off a couple of blocks into the drive. As the fair-haired male snuggled up against his boyfriend's side, he sighed softly.

"What's the matter?" Seto asked him as he leaned over to kiss his forehead.

"Nothing," he replied, only to laugh sheepishly at the arched eyebrow. "Alright, it's just – you did all this for me. You put together this amazing night with you and all my friends, shared me with them even though I know it's not your thing, and well, I kind of feel like a big asshole for all the things I said to you at lunch."  
Of all the things he'd expected to get in response, hearing Seto laugh was the last. "What the hell's so funny?" he demanded. "I'm trying to have a serious moment here!"

The brunet chuckled harder and tipped the blond's chin up to kiss him softly. "You were angry, Katsuya. You were hurt. And I really can't blame you for that. I do know how important today was to you. How it's truly the start of _our_ time together. But honestly, when I look back on what you said, I really have been called much worse." He laughed again, and then deepened the kiss. "Do you still think that I don't think about you? That you're secondary to me?" he murmured.

A brilliant smile lit up the blond's face, and as his eyes fell half-shut, he shook his head. "No, Set', I don't. I think that you're a rotten bastard for tricking me like that, but I'll forgive you for it. I didn't like it at the time, but it turned out to be a really good surprise. One thing is bugging me, though."

"Oh? What's that?"

Jounouchi pinked a little, but he grinned impishly. "Back in your office, when I was sort of coming on to you, I was kinda disappointed that you didn't even react to it."

The brunet gave him a tart smirk in return. "Oh, believe me, I reacted to it. I just have a very, _very_ good poker face." He shifted a little and turned more to face the smaller teen. "When we get home, you're more than welcome to continue with what you were doing, though." The smirk widened. "Right now, I believe I owe you a birthday kiss, ne?"

The blond melted against his lover when he felt the soft lips, talented tongue, and skilled hands against his body. As all rational thought stopped and all that remained was the gorgeous brunet's presence, Jounouchi sighed happily. Seto did love him. A lot. And as that thought finally floated away on the blissful euphoria coursing through him, he smiled. Seto had given him the best present he could have ever asked for. He had given him himself.


End file.
